Page 102 of Everlasting Vows

He shakes his head. “She didn’t say anything when I saw her at work yesterday.”

“Hey! I brought you guys a surprise!” Prue calls from the front of the house.

Nix passes me the towel, and I dry my hands. We grin through our confusion and make our way toward our daughter.

“We thought you were—” My words freeze on my tongue when my eyes land on Murphy, leaning on crutches. He looks so much better than when I last saw him in person. Stronger. Happier.

My feet are bolted in place. My knees like rubber as I try to make sense of what I’m seeing. I reach out to the wall for support, only to have Nix wrap his arm around my waist. Emotion wells up inside like a tsunami, and I raise my hand to hold back a sob while tears prick the backs of my eyes.

“You … you’re home!” I whisper in disbelief to the group in front of me.

“It would seem that way,” Murphy says deadpan, wearing his trademark smirk. “Hi.”

His voice kicks me into action, and I rush toward him on shaky legs, every muscle in my body trembling with relief that he’s home. There’s something to be said for having your entire family together under one roof. It settles something deep in a mother’s heart.

As I eat up the distance between us, a voice in the back of my head reminds me to gentle my approach. I stop in front of him and cup his neatly shaven jaw. “I’m so happy to see you.” I carefully wrap my arms around his torso to hug him gently, careful not to press too much of my weight against him. Surprise riots through my body when he wraps his arms tightly around me to return my embrace, and I feel him kiss the top of my head.

The emotion I’d been fighting to hold on to breaks like a wave, and I clutch him tighter as my tears crash onto my cheeks, wetting his shirt. His body shakes against mine, and we hold on to each other, taking and giving comfort. Time seems to slow as Murphy’s steady heartbeat thumps against my cheek. We could have lost him.

He loosens his hold, and I take his cue, stepping away as I swipe away the wetness on my cheeks. I push my lips up into a shaky smile, my heart swelling to three times its normal size. “We’re so glad you’re home.”

He smiles too, his wet cheeks rising. “Me too.”

Nix moves in to embrace our son, and I step aside to give them room. Prue wraps her arm around my shoulder as I wipe beneath my eyes. “What do you think of your surprise?” She smiles at me, her eyes twinkling.

I wrap my arm around her waist and rest my head on her shoulder. “It’s the best.” I look at my daughter, who appears to be extremely proud of herself. “How did you pull this off? You’re terrible at keeping secrets.” I poke her side, and we both chuckle.

“Murphy only phoned last night to tell me he was coming home, and he wanted it to be a surprise for you and Dad. It helped that we haven’t communicated since his call.” She widens her eyes. “I wouldn’t have been able to keep it from you otherwise.”

Luke breaks away from our huddle, tossing Murphy’s duffel over his shoulder. “I’ll take this up to your room.”

Murphy nods. “Thanks, man.”

My earlier concern about Murphy navigating the stairs comes flaring back to life, but I press my lips firmly together when Nix catches my eye as if he’s waiting for me to tell Murphy he should move downstairs.

“How about we all head into the kitchen for a drink? We can catch up,” Nix suggests.

Nix and Prue lead the way, and I follow behind with Murphy. Disbelief filling every recess of my body that he’s finally home where he belongs.

When we enter the kitchen, Nix is busy raiding the pantry for any snacks and comes back to the table with a bag of chips, some pretzels, and cheddar-flavored goldfish, which I purchased ready for his return.

I grab some bowls and take them to the table as Murphy makes his way further into the room. “Holy shit!” When I turn to see what’s captured his attention, he’s heading closer to the back windows. “The backyard looks so different,” he says with awe in his voice.

“It looks incredible, right?” Prue asks as she takes the spot next to Murphy, both of them admiring the space outside. “Dad did all the stonework and Mom chose the plants. This guy Dad found did all the timber work.”

He looks down at his sister with such love and adoration, adjusting his weight on his crutches. “It’s going to be perfect for your big day.”

I pour the chips into a bowl, then open the pretzels. “Your dad worked really hard on the backyard.” I smile at Nix. “He’s done an incredible job.” His dedication to building the perfect backyard for the wedding and for us was one of the things that brought us back together. He put us first. “Prue and Luke helped too. They planted everything while we were in Germany with you.”

Luke grabs the soda out of the fridge. “We appreciate everything you’ve done to make our wedding special.” Prue mentioned how uncomfortable Luke feels about the amount of money and time we’ve spent on the upgrades.

“It’s our pleasure. We get the benefits long after your wedding, so we win too.” I wink at him.

He takes the spot on the other side of Murphy and points at the fire pit. “That’s where we’ll say our vows.”

Seeing the three of them together takes me back to when they were kids. Murphy and Luke would spend every minute together, and more often than not, Luke would encourage Prue to join them, despite Murphy’s desire to keep Luke to himself. There was something special between the three of them, and warmth fills my chest that they’re back together again.

We spend the next hour or so chatting and catching up. Once the snacks are finished and our drinks are empty, Luke and Prue take Murphy out back for a tour, while I work quickly to bake a cake as well as prepare dinner; thankful Nix went to the store earlier.